Renting a car to get to Astorga?

[jrm]

Hello all,

Thanks for all the great info on how to get to Astorga from Madrid. Right now, the frontrunner is the morning bus that gets us in around noon. However, if my friends and I wanted to drive ourselves from Madrid to Astorga, is it possible to rent a car for a one-way journey. It'd be nice to be able to reach Astorga earlier in the day so we could walk before noon. It also could be a nice experience to drive through the Spanish countryside to start our journey.... Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

is it possible to rent a car for a one-way journey.

I am sure it is, but all one way rentals in Spain are extremely expensive.

 

[William Marques]

I have not found that to be the case but none of the major car hire companies have offices in Astorga as far as I can see. Leon is the closest.

 

[natefaith]

The Spanish countryside is beautiful for sure, but in my experience getting a one-way rental in Spain is very expensive and hasn't been worth it. @William Marques , if you have a chance to share I'd love to know what you've found for one-way rental prices in general, for future reference.

Also, @jrm - do you know how to drive stick shift? It's good to be aware that most rental cars here have manual transmission. (We didn't know how to drive stick when we moved to Spain, which made our first few months here a lot more interesting!)
Enjoy all the planning and Buen Camino!
Faith

 

[William Marques]

Bilbao - Pamplona, Sevilla - Placencia, Sevilla - Conil de la Frontera, Madrid - Salamanca to name a few. I have never had a problem with one way prices as long as they have an office in the town. They may not be as cheap as return to base always but as a way of getting a group of people from A to B in the shortest possible time they are often cheaper than the alternative train option.

I do agree that an automatic car will add substantially to the bill but as a European/Aus I have been bought up on manual gearchanges

 

[jrm]

Thanks for the info all. The fact that there doesn't seem to be a rental car office in Astorga (as per my searches as well), kinda puts a block on this idea. Oh well! Just thinking about how to get to the starting point easier/faster/more economically. Thanks! Looks like the bus is still the best option.

 

[Thomas1962]

Pity that there doesn't seem to be a car rental in Astorga indeed.
My experience is that one way rentals can be a very good option in Spain, not that expensive. Especially if you are with two or more persons. I did it last year to go back from SdC to Madrid airport. I enjoyed it so much. Prices are from €100 on for 24 hours, excluding petrol.